The importance of an adequate supply of manganese to the diet of both animals and humans has been reported in the literature. Adequate dietary intake of manganese for swine, cattle, and poultry has been shown for sometime to be of importance. For example, in both birds and mammals, manganese deficiency has been reported in the literature as characterized by bone abnormalities, defective growth, central nervous system manifestations, reproductive disfunction, and abnormalities in fat and lipid metabolism.
Thus, manganese is considered as essential in nutrition for several reasons. First, it is omnipresent in food stuff. Secondly, its concentration in mammalian tissues is steady, fairly characteristic of each organ, and not species-linked. Third, it shows numerous impressive biochemical functions in vitro. Fourth, when diets deficient in manganese are eaten, specific symptoms result. Fifth, when given to severely manganese deficient animals, the addition of manganese specifically and reproducively relieves a major part of their deficiency symptoms. Sixth, when given as a dietary supplement it prevents symptoms of deficiency from appearing.
While the importance of an adequate manganese level in the diet of both animals and humans has been shown and reported for sometime, maintenance of adequate manganese levels in the dietary intake has not necessarily been easy to achieve. Dietary supplementation with inorganic salts or manganese, such as manganese sulfate and manganese chloride, seems to be inadequate since it does not simulate the state of manganese in foods. Manganese in food is probably present in the form of mettalloorganic complexes. Furthermore, examination of the contents of the guts of a number of animals revealed that manganese was present in the form of metalloorganic complexes and not in the inorganic state. The enchancement of the absorption of a number of metal ions, including manganese, from the gastrointestinal tract of chicken in presence of unnatural complex forming agents, e.g. ethylene diamine tetracetic acid, has been previously established. These unnatural complex forming agents were found to have detrimental effects on the utilization of some metals including manganese since they form stable complexes with these metals which are readily excreted. It is therefore essential to choose ligands which will form complexes of intermediate stability with manganese to enhance the absorption of the metal from the gastrointestinal tract and would release the metal for utilization within the animal body. Amino acids are examples of these types of ligands. Naturally occurring amino acids form complexes with metals, including manganese, of intermediate stability and it has been postulated that amino acid metal complexed are involved in the reabsorption of metals in the kidneys. Dietary supplementation with manganese in the form of amino acid complex would enhance the absorption of the metal from the gastrointestinal tract and in the blood the complex would provide both the amino acid and manganese for utilization by the animal. These amino acid complexes are soluble in water and the solution is stable under conditions simulating the gastric and intestinal contents.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide novel manganese compounds wherein the manganese is in a form which can be readily absorbed after ingestion by animals and readily distributed and utilized in order to provide adequate manganese levels for proper health, weight gain, and dietary balance.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide certain novel manganese compounds wherein the manganese is not only in a form which can be readily absorbed and after ingestion readily distributed and utilized, but the manganese is associated in a complex form with an alpha amino acid, such as methionine, which also can be readily ingested and distributed in the body to provide adequate dietary levels of methionine for proper health, weight gain and dietary balance.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a process for making novel manganese compounds which is simple to perform and can be economically utilized in large-scale plant practice to prepare the novel manganese compounds of this invention in bulk for ready utilization in large quantities to supplement the diets of animals and humans.
Still another object of this invention is to provide the compounds of this invention in a solid crystalline, water soluble form, which provides for compounds in an easily and efficiently useable form for supplementation of solid feeds.
The method of accomplishing these and other objects will become apparent from the following description of the invention.